The Saratoga Youth Council: Giving Youth Experiencing Homelessness a Platform for Individual Development and Community Building - Institute for ...
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
JANUARY 2022
The Saratoga Youth Council:
Giving Youth Experiencing Homelessness
a Platform for Individual Development
and Community Building
Creating a Community
of Care: DV Survivors,
Homeless Families,
and Their Pets
Family Homelessness
Providers and Head Start
‘Housing Is Health’:
Overcrowding, COVID-19,
and Evictions in NYC’s
Immigrant Neighborhoods
Leer en español
Time to Build a Better
Shelter-to-School Bridge
36 Cooper Square
2nd Floor
January 2022 New York, NY 10003
(212) 358-8086
Visit our website at ICPHusa.org/beyondhousingmagazine to download additional copies of
this issue or to access additional content and multimedia resources tied to this publication.
We welcome ideas and feedback at INFO@ICPHusa.org.
Cover photo: Youth Council members proactively mentor and look out for the younger afterschool participants.
JOHN GREENWOOD
Executive Director
Homes for the Homeless
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Institute for Children, Poverty
& Homelessness Letter from Executive Director John Greenwood.........................................3
The Data Digest..................................................................................................4
EDITORIAL ‘The Rules Change Daily’: Documentation and
Linda Bazerjian, Editor Homelessness Prevention................................................................................6
Mary Cummings, Assistant Editor
Sara Herschander, Assistant Editor Creating a Community of Care: DV Survivors, Homeless
Robyn Schwartz, Assistant Editor Families, and Their Pets....................................................................................8
Caroline Iosso
Juanita Ramos Ardila The Saratoga Youth Council: Giving Youth Experiencing
Max Rein
Homelessness a Platform for Individual Development
Mariellen Rich
and Community Building................................................................................. 12
CONTRIBUTORS ‘Housing Is Health’: Overcrowding, COVID-19, and Evictions
Omari Baye in NYC’s Immigrant Neighborhoods.............................................................. 16
Michael Chapman
Tracey Duarte Leer en español
Roslyn Edwards ‘La vivienda es salud’: hacinamiento, COVID-19 y desalojos
Danielle Emery
en los barrios de inmigrantes de Nueva York............................................. 21
Sadie Keller
Leeane Knighton Time to Build a Better Shelter-to-School Bridge: A Retrospective
Jennifer Kottke
on the Experiences of NYC Students and Families in Shelter
Grace Whitney
Joe Willard during the Pandemic School Year................................................................ 26
Family Homelessness Providers and Head Start—Natural
Designed by Lee Dixon Partners: Taking the Model Statewide......................................................... 36
Photo Credits: Mary Cummings,
Sara Herschander, Saratoga Q & A With ...
Family Residence Afterschool Homeless Education Coordinators in Los Angeles County..................... 40
& Recreation Students
Beyond Housing magazine is published by the Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness (ICPH). © January 2022. Reprints
and dissemination of this issue allowed with attribution to Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness or ICPHusa.org.
The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of ICPH or its affiliates.
@InstituteforChildrenandPoverty @ICPH_homeless ICPHusa
Letter from the Executive Director
Dear Reader,
For the last 12 years, ICPH’s Beyond Housing conference has sparked conversations and
convened the community of policymakers, service providers, and others dedicated to
supporting the needs of families experiencing homelessness.
When the COVID-19 crisis struck the country in March 2020, that community stepped up in
a big way. For many, the pandemic’s toll over the past two years has only strengthened their
commitment to finding new and long-lasting solutions for the changing needs of families and
communities. At ICPH and our affiliate Homes for the Homeless (HFH), the pandemic has taught
us to reimagine the ways we foster community. Due to the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, we
made the difficult decision to forego our regular Beyond Housing conference, which normally
draws hundreds of attendees at a major hotel and conference center in New York City.
Instead, this year, we’re bringing you together in a different way—through the launch of our new
Beyond Housing magazine, a collection of ideas and solutions around family homelessness. Our team at ICPH is smaller
than it used to be, and we’ve tailored our research to more directly address the needs of local families in New York City.
Yet, we know that when it comes to family homelessness, local issues are also national issues. Many of the lessons we’ve
learned and the solutions we’ve found in NYC can easily be applied to other localities, and vice versa.
In this inaugural issue, you’ll find a Q&A with homeless education liaisons in Los Angeles County and an analysis of the
New York City Department of Education’s coordination with shelter-based student services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You’ll read about a partnership in Philadelphia that’s working to foster quality early childcare for children experiencing
homelessness and its influence on statewide policy, as well as a NYC shelter-based afterschool Youth Council offering
peer leadership opportunities to children and teens.
The Urban Resource Institute, which served as a site visit during the 2020 Beyond Housing conference, will share the
latest research on their innovative pet-friendly domestic violence shelter model. You’ll learn how pre-existing housing
conditions, like overcrowding and low affordable housing stock, exacerbated the COVID-19 and looming eviction crises in
NYC’s immigrant communities, as well as strategies for ensuring that documentation requirements don’t impede a family’s
search for housing stability. And Family Promise offers us a glimpse into the work that two of their affiliates are doing to
ensure that documentation and identification issues do not keep a family from achieving housing stability, especially for
those who are asylum seekers. We’ll also feature some enlightening infographics highlighting data from our research and
policy unit’s “Snapshots” on employment, disability benefits, and “new parents” in Homes for the Homeless’ four family
shelters in NYC.
Through it all, we’ve seen what community and care can do for families, even—or especially—under the most challenging
circumstances. Our communities have consistently stepped up in the face of disaster—including hurricanes, the September
11 attacks, and now, a global pandemic—and each time they’ve emerged with new tools, ideas, and resolve.
I’m deeply proud of this community and the ways in which we’ve supported each other and families experiencing
homelessness.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts, comments, and stories, and encourage you to connect with us on Facebook,
Twitter, or by email at INFO@ICPHusa.org. You can also visit our website at ICPHusa.org for additional content and more
opportunities for collaboration.
Sincerely,
John Greenwood
Executive Director
Homes for the Homeless and the Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness
BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / ICPHUSA.ORG/BEYONDHOUSINGMAGAZINE – 3
THE
NEW PARENTS
Before their current shelter
DATA
stay, one in five new parents*
most recently lived outside of
New York City.
DIGEST
*Defined as parent of child under the
age of 24 months
8%
Data and stats often come up at the Where New Parents Lived Prior
Beyond Housing conferences. In “The 10% to Their Current Shelter Stay
Data Digest,” we want to share not only
25%
Another shelter
data that may shine light on the current
Doubled up or overcrowded
state of family homelessness in New York
situations
City, but also help providers and others
think about how they can approach data 57% Renting/living on their own
collection, analysis, and dissemination in a Other
meaningful way.
All of the data shared in this section
26% 21%
is pulled from a series of “Snapshots”
that social services provider Homes
for the Homeless (HFH) put out over of new of new parents
the course of 2021 to take the pulse on parents are listed Spanish
programmatic and operational topics employed. as the language
from resident employment to needs and they feel most
comfortable
demographics of new parents (defined
speaking.
as those with a child under the age of 24
months). The overall goal was for program
enhancement and staff development but
the data also shed light on key issues that
others working with families experiencing EMPLOYMENT Almost one in four
employed clients (23%)
homelessness might be interested in 16% of clients were employed.** work in a healthcare
hearing more about. Possible reasons for low client support position. These
employment are: (1) Some clients healthcare support
Take a glance at the infographics of some
have either lost their jobs or occupations have a lower
of the data points that stood out. If you are
have had trouble finding one due median annual wage
interested in reading the full “Snapshots,” to the current economic climate; ($28,470) than
you can download them at ICPHusa.org/ (2) a greater share of families the median
beyondhousingmagazine in the Resources referred to HFH sites have more annual wage
section. You can also download more barriers to employment than for all other
How To Use ideas. the average family occupations.
seeking shelter
How to Connect in NYC; or (3) a
lack of access
16%
Max Rein / Policy Assistant, MRein@ to jobs close
HFHnyc.org to shelters.
Caroline Iosso / Senior Policy Associate,
CIosso@HFHnyc.org
4 – BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022
78%
For almost half of these
new parents, this is their
of new parents at 47% first child.
HFH are Black.
Where New Parents at HFH Receive Healthcare Services
60% 59%
For those who have
another child, over a
third of clients (35%)
40% do not have that
child currently living
29% with them in shelter.
20%
11%
6%
0%
The median
age for these parents is
25 years old.
Emergency room
Health clinic
Primary care doctor
Referrals made by the shelter or shelter-based
mobile health van
DISABILITY BENEFITS
The average Social Security Insurance/Social Security
Disability (SSI/SSDI) payment made to HFH clients was
Many clients travel far to get to work. Google Maps
$770 per month. For perspective, this amount barely
travel time estimates illustrate that only 11% of clients can
covers half of the median price for a rental unit in NYC,
get to work in under 30 minutes via public transportation.
which was $1,508 monthly in 2019. In fact, more than
54% of clients travel over an hour to get to work via
three quarters of clients who receive disability benefits
public transportation.
are also enrolled in other forms of Public Assistance
programs, such as cash assistance or the Supplemental
Over 2 hours Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), for the balance of
6% 11% Under 30
minutes their income. This analysis demonstrates that receiving
SSI/SSDI on its own is most likely not enough to
support families.
$0 $754 $1,508
48% 35%
$770
Between 0% 50% 100%
Between 30 and 60
1 to 2 hours minutes Median monthly rent in NYC Average SSI/SSDI payment
**NOTE: Analysis for data was conducted at various points in 2021 as follows: resident employment in January 2021, resident enrollment in disability
programs in Spring 2021, and new parents in Summer 2021.
BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / ICPHUSA.ORG/BEYONDHOUSINGMAGAZINE – 5
‘The Rules Change Daily’:
Documentation and
Homelessness Prevention
By Sadie Keller
L
isa Markushewski, case manager at Greater Portland Family advice and insight into the issues families face in our community,”
Promise (GPFP) in Portland, Maine, has recently found herself says Ibonwa.
somewhat of a specialist in identification and documentation. Initiating and winning an asylum claim is contingent on having
This is not a skill she expected to develop while working to keep multiple forms of ID and valid certificates, a significant barrier for
families housed and stabilized. some families. Administrative snags and international incongruence
Amid applying for housing, acquiring necessary social services, add to the stress. For example, a person may struggle to track down
and building community ties, most families in GPFP programs are a birth certificate and request it from their home country. In the case
simultaneously embarking on a long and arduous legal journey. of married couples, the United States may not recognize a union
According to GPFP Executive Director Michelle Lamm, most of the carried out in another country through a traditional ceremony.
families served by the organization are new residents of the United When possible, GPFP gets creative. They have acted as notaries
States. Ninety-three percent of families served are seeking asylum, for at least six couples, performed legal marriages onsite, and have
the majority from central African countries like the Democratic helped families obtain state-issued photo IDs. While they leave the
Republic of Congo and Angola. legal work to experts, GPFP works with families to prepare their
To respond, the GPFP team has ventured into the complex lattice asylum claims, including copying documents needed for the appli-
of state and federal laws that dictate social services, immigration cation. Claims can involve more than 250 printed pages, so donors
status, and housing. “You have to go back and read the guidelines,” have provided credit at local printing stores to help cover the costs.
says Markushewski, “and the rules change daily.” Gathering required documentation can take months, which
This navigation requires collaboration from an entire community, means families may live without access to benefits pending their
and thankfully, the GPFP has strong partnerships with legal advo- verification. “Too many families are forced to go without basic needs
cates, including Maine Equal Justice. They refer multiple families for their children,” says Lamm.
to the group each year. Attorney Deb Ibonwa, the organization’s T.J. Putman is executive director of a Family Promise affiliate
policy and legal advocate, connects families to services, provides on the other side of the country, Family Promise of the Mid-Wil-
legal assistance, and manages high-impact litigation. Ibonwa says lamette Valley, in Salem, Oregon. Like GPFP, the organization
GPFP’s team identifies when a family faces a legal challenge, like a does not require a family to present documentation to enroll in
loophole eviction, tax fraud, or denied benefits. “I rely on [GPFP’s]
6 – BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022
programming, including emergency shelter. “You shouldn’t need GPFP is hopeful it will be adopted. According to Lamm, the change
an ID to live somewhere safe,” says Putman. would help ameliorate health inequities of low-income Mainers
Before working in homeless services, Putman could understand who are immigrants and allow case managers like Markushewski
why someone would live without identification, but he did not know to better advocate for their clients, but it is just one of many more
the extent to which a lack of documentation would keep a family on substantial changes needed in Portland’s social safety net.
the brink of experiencing homelessness. He has been continuously In Oregon, one existing service needs to be strengthened. The
surprised by the centrality of documentation to his work supporting state provides no-cost birth certificates for people experiencing
families, noting, “You need documentation to open a bank account, homelessness, a helpful tool for Putman’s team as they update and
to drive, to apply for an apartment, and to secure a job.” establish documentation for families. But the process is slow, often
When they first approach a Family Promise affiliate, most par- taking more than 30 days, and COVID-19 contributed to a domino
ents are focused on getting out of an unsafe situation and caring for effect. The backlog stalls a family’s ability to access a hotel for one
their children. Understandably, renewing evening, and in the long-term could keep
a driver’s license is not top of mind. In them from receiving essential services.
Portland, many families contact GPFP after According to GPFP Ironically, the wait for the special
an exhausting and traumatic international Executive Director Michelle documentation can close a window of
journey that may have taken months or opportunity for a family to find housing.
years. “At intake, all of the families we serve Lamm, most of the families In today’s especially tight real estate mar-
need serious medical attention. They are served by the organization ket, there are few units that families can
deeply concerned about their kids,” reflects afford, and when family-suitable and safe
Markushewski.
are new residents of the spaces do appear, they go quickly. In rare
Obtaining documentation can feel te- United States. instances, a landlord or organization will
dious and bureaucratic, but it has proven accept an interim card as identification.
to be a necessary checkmark in case management. It is essential to Often, however, no documentation means no apartment.
bringing a family out of homelessness—and can bring a family’s They live on opposite coasts and serve disparate communities,
long-term goals a little more within reach. “We can work with some but Markushewski, Lamm, and Putman all agree that securing
landlords to get a family into an apartment and pay for one or two documentation is a necessary step to preventing homelessness and
months of rent,” says Lamm. “But eventually, the family will pay. maintaining a family’s independence in the long term. Therefore,
Parents need to have a job or be in training, kids need to be enrolled they believe it is a natural part of the work of homeless services
in school, and everyone needs good healthcare. Each piece of that providers. As they work to educate their communities about family
puzzle requires different forms of ID.” homelessness and housing instability, the Family Promise teams are
Under normal circumstances, documentation poses barriers expanding the definition of homelessness prevention to meet the
for those living in poverty, and overwhelmingly burdens families need in their community.
of color. The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated this As Lamm says, “It is all about setting the family up for stability.”
situation, increasing the wait time for processing credentials and
limiting in-person visits at the responsible state offices. In one
timely example, ID or Social Security Number requirements for
the coronavirus vaccine have kept some families from receiving a Sadie Keller is a policy and program associate at Family
dose in some states. Promise, where she focuses on housing policy research, grant
The past two years brought an unprecedented level of funding management, and partner engagement. What began as a local
to renters and landlords, including $46.5 billion in rental assistance. initiative in Summit, NJ, has become a national movement that
Yet the dollars have been slow to reach those who desperately need involves 200,000 volunteers and has served more than one
them. Some localities, fearing misuse of funds or fraud, have put million family members since its founding. Currently, Family
in place strict requirements that mean it can take offices weeks to Promise is working in more than 200 communities in 43 states
verify an applicant. One of the biggest hurdles in the process is the to prevent family homelessness and ensure that families have
level of required documentation needed. Hoping that states and a safe place to call home and the resources they need during
local governments can streamline the distribution of the funds, the the COVID-19 pandemic.
Treasury Department has modified its guidance. It remains to be
seen how effectively these funds will be distributed. Family Promise How to Connect:
and other organizations fear the long-term repercussions of the end
Sadie Keller / skeller@familypromise.org
of the national eviction moratorium for families who were unable
to access or use allocated funds to catch up on rent. Michelle Lamm / michelle@gpfamilypromise.org
As they navigate ever-changing webs of federal, state, and local T.J. Putman / tj@familypromisemwv.org
rules, both Family Promise affiliates see opportunities for policymak- familypromise.org
ers and administrators to better support families. In Portland, LD gpfamilypromise.org
718, HP 529, an act introduced in the past legislative session, could familypromisemwv.org
help close gaps in healthcare eligibility for asylum seekers. The act is
currently being re-considered in the current legislative session, and
BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / ICPHUSA.ORG/BEYONDHOUSINGMAGAZINE – 7
Creating a Community of Care: DV Survivors, Homeless Families, and Their Pets By Danielle Emery 8 – BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022
L
aunched in 2013, the People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) providing shelter and services to homeless families be aware of and
program, an initiative of the Urban Resource Institute (URI), sensitive to the intersection of homelessness and domestic violence,
serves domestic violence (DV) survivors with pets. Our shelters and be equipped to accommodate families with pets in order to help
are among the less than five percent of DV shelters nationwide to as many survivors as possible.
offer co-living, where people are housed along with their companion At the 2020 ICPH Beyond Housing conference, URI hosted a
animals in individual units while healing, helping survivors and site visit to PALS Place, the first domestic violence shelter of its size
their entire families access safety. built specifically with pets in mind. We talked about our journey to
The PALS program operates at the intersection of social services success, from burgeoning idea to impactful and growing initiative,
and animal welfare. Research has shown that when there is violence and as a shining example of what is possible with the co-living mod-
in a home, all members of that home—both people and animals—are el. We started as a domestic violence shelter provider dedicated to
at risk and need access to safety. We also understand that pets are serving our clients, noticed a gap in those services for clients with
an integral part of a family, and especially acknowledge the impor- pets, and chose to act to fill this need. We are now in a position to
tance of the human-animal bond for those who have experienced share the lessons we’ve learned during this process and are pleased
trauma. URI released “The PALS Report and Survey” in May 2021, to have this opportunity to provide more information on where we
including the findings of a 2019 survey conducted with the National started and updates on how far we’ve come since that 2020 visit, in
Domestic Violence Hotline. The survey reinforced the notion that hopes that it will jumpstart similar initiatives around the country.
pets are an important part of a survivor’s family, with 91 percent of
respondents saying their pet was critical to their own survival and Incorporating Pets into Shelter Settings—
healing, and 97 percent stating that keeping their pet with them was
Addressing Concerns
When URI first launched the PALS program in 2013, we could
What would you say is the primary role your pet not have imagined that within eight years we would have success-
plays in your survivorship/healing? fully welcomed close to 350 families and 450 pets to the program.
What began with 10 pet-friendly units in one shelter facility has
since grown to nearly 500 units in eight fully pet-friendly shelter
86% 5% 9% buildings across New York City. On any given night, more than 50
families with close to 75 pets reside in URI’s shelters. Although all
emotional protection neither
support 500 units are designated as pet-friendly, DV survivors both with
and without pets utilize the units on an as-needed basis. This did
not happen overnight. As more people learn about the program, we
have more families with pets entering our doors. The growth and
success of the PALS program has been steady, at a pace matching
our organizational capacity, funding, and resources — all important
things to consider when taking on this type of initiative.
We started the PALS program without program-specific staff
an important factor in seeking shelter. Additionally, concern for a and with no institutional experience welcoming animals in our
pet’s safety and the lack of family shelters that can accommodate buildings. This was unfamiliar territory for our agency, and there
pets are critical reasons why survivors may delay leaving an abusive were many concerns and anxieties from staff and residents: “What
situation or return to a dangerous environment. Fifty percent of about allergies?”, “What happens if an animal becomes aggressive?”,
respondents to the PALS survey said they would not seek shelter
if they could not take their pets with them. This data corresponds
with what experience in the field has consistently shown: pets are
72%
essential in survivors’ lives, and the lack of programs that include
animals as family members is a significant barrier to accessing safety.
It is also impossible to disentangle domestic violence from family
homelessness. Domestic violence shelter systems across the country
are intended to provide emergency respite for survivors in crisis. By
design, survivors who enter these shelters leave behind their homes
and belongings for safety, more often than not becoming homeless of respondents
in order to flee abuse. New York City’s city-funded domestic vio-
lence shelter system is vast, housing 6,400 adults and children each
were not aware
year, but remains woefully inadequate to accommodate every DV that some shelters
survivor seeking safe shelter. A 2019 NYC Comptroller’s report
identified domestic violence as the leading cause for homelessness accept pets.
within the NYC homeless family shelter system—over 41 percent
of families cited it as the primary reason—a dramatic 44 percent
increase over the preceding five years. It is imperative that agencies
BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / ICPHUSA.ORG/BEYONDHOUSINGMAGAZINE – 9
“Will I have to interact with animals?” PALS has fielded these endeavor. We ask a great deal of our clients: they must show up
questions internally as the program has expanded to multiple URI to an unfamiliar location, sometimes giving up or changing a job
shelters. The average social service worker is already busy. The for their safety. We also ask them to apply for public benefits, so
average shelter has few vacancies, with some maintaining waiting that they can access all available services. While living in a shelter,
lists depending on the locale. So, the new and complicating factors they must comply with curfews and other rules that may be new
involved in adding people’s pets were an understandable source of to them. In allowing residents to keep a family pet, we are giving
worry for both staff and residents. Additionally, most of our staff them some peace of mind and a stable source of comfort. Retaining
their pet means they do not have to separate temporarily or per-
manently with an important member of their family. It also means
that children—and adults—do not have to be further traumatized
by separating from their furry friend.
Once new clients with pets are accepted, they must speak with a
member of the PALS team to discuss the expectations and respon-
sibilities for having a pet in the shelter setting. Just as clients are
expected to meet curfew and other guidelines on site, they must
also be responsible for the care of their pet and agree to avoid un-
necessary interactions between their pets and other residents. Once
clients have acclimated, many staff members at URI say that it’s easy
91%
indicated that their pets’ emotional support
to forget that there are pets residing at their site, since clients take
such attentive care of their animals.
We in the PALS program want to share this experience with
providers across the country to assure them that while we had fears
and anxieties when starting our program, in our nearly 10 years of
and physical protection are significant in experience, the benefits have far outweighed any concerns. When
handled appropriately, introducing a pet program into your shelter
their ability to survive and heal. can be another avenue in which you can connect with your clients,
reduce trauma, and encourage their positive growth.
Creating a Community of Care
members did not begin working in social services with the intent of
working in close proximity to animals. But we understood that by When URI began exploring how to welcome pets into our shelters,
welcoming pets into shelter, we were able to welcome more humans we knew that collaboration with other providers—particularly those
into shelter. We knew the need for pet-friendly shelter was pressing, specializing in animal welfare—would be integral to our program’s
and we were determined to build a program that would address success. No single service provider can address every aspect of the
these concerns while still providing a critical service to survivors. complex and unique life experiences of a DV survivor or family
In our experience, these anxieties and fears have been unfound- experiencing homelessness. Collaboration with animal welfare
ed. To date, no staff member or resident has been injured by a pet. organizations in your community are paramount to the success of
Allergies are not a frequent issue. Animals are not running loose any co-sheltering program. Fortunately, many in animal welfare are
or presenting a frequent disturbance to the shelter environment. ready and willing to work with shelter and social service providers to
Providers can avoid potential snags in their pet program by designing expand services, keep families together, and prevent pet surrender.
a strong initiative and addressing such concerns and needs before The field of animal welfare has been moving towards a more
animals are ever brought into shelter. The work we did in designing, people-centered approach to helping animals in need, recognizing
implementing, and scaling our program as our capacity grew has that caring for animals requires caring for the people who love
been key in our success. and care for them. This change has been especially notable over
The vast majority of PALS pets are dogs, cats, and other small the past two years, as both animal welfare and social services have
animals. They are pets who have been part of the family for at responded to the COVID-19 crisis. For many Americans, changing
least a year and are very familiar with bustling city life, interacting employment circumstances and public health measures enacted in
with children, and with the noise and congestion that comes with response to the pandemic resulted in an extraordinary amount of
apartment living. Children and adults alike have strong bonds with time spent at home. Animal rescues experienced an unprecedented
these animals. Our intake process includes a number of questions rate of pet adoptions, and many across the country reported that
designed to determine the pet’s temperament, and we find that their pets were a significant factor in managing stress levels during
dogs, both large and small, are often socialized to be friendly to otherwise isolating times.
or ignore strangers. Those that may not have been well socialized As a shelter provider, we know this work is complex and de-
due to abuse or other factors are kept under close watch by family manding, and are not suggesting that agencies immediately begin
members to avoid incidents in shelter. accepting pets into their facilities. But we are encouraging potential
For those entering shelters due to domestic violence, the process providers consider the issue and begin exploring ways your agency
of entering shelter can be a physically and emotionally draining could provide support and resources to people with pets. We and
others doing this work across the country are available to provide
10 – BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022guidance and direction. URI and PALS can provide training and pets to seek safe shelter. In the last two years, the PAWS Act has
technical assistance, and resources and training opportunities are distributed $4.5 million to providers across the country to support
also available via the Co-Sheltering Collaborative, Red Rover, SAF-T, programs for domestic violence survivors with pets. Pet Smart
Human Animal Support Services, and others. Charities, Red Rover, and other small foundations also have grants
PALS operates with the belief that all people who have animals available for all types of human services agencies seeking to provide
in their families deserve access to resources and services in order supports to clients with pets.
to remain together, no matter what compounding factors they are If pets are present in your or your loved ones’ lives, as they are
experiencing. This includes survivors of domestic violence and both in nearly 70 percent of American households, consider the joy
individuals and families experiencing homelessness. But no one is and comfort they provide and use that experience to advocate for
suggesting you do this work totally on your own! Service providers others with pets. There are actions both small and large you can
and organizations can and should collaborate across disciplines to take to help those experiencing homelessness with pets, and there
contribute to a community of care that addresses all of the needs is assistance available no matter what level of action you are looking
of individuals and families recovering from domestic violence and to take. Reach out to other providers in your community, begin or
experiencing homelessness, including provisions for family pets. continue conversations about how to incorporate pets and how that
ultimately serves human clients, and most importantly, ask for help!
Pushing for Change Only by working together can we move towards a shelter system
that recognizes the importance of animals in people’s lives and
There are a number of actions that individuals, agencies, and advo- provides supports and resources to keep families together and safe.
cates for policy change can take in advancing resources available to
domestic violence survivors and those experiencing homelessness
with pets. If you work with clients, collect data on the number of
families and individuals you serve that either have pets, or recently Danielle Emery is the People and Animals Living Safely
relinquished or re-homed pets due to their circumstances. Your (PALS) director at Urban Resource Institute (URI). For almost
a decade, the organization has offered training and technical
assistance on the PALS program to all types of providers, in-
cluding domestic violence and other social services, as well
as to animal welfare organizations. URI helps transform the
lives of domestic violence survivors and homeless families
with a focus on communities of color and other vulnerable
populations. URI is the largest provider of domestic violence
shelter services in the U.S.
How to Connect:
Danielle Emery / Demery@URInyc.org
50% URInyc.org
would not consider
shelter for themselves To download additional copies or access
if they could not take companion resources, please visit
their pets with them. ICPHusa.org/beyondhousingmagazine
Please take a moment to share your
local animal shelter may already have some of this data regarding
comments for a chance to receive a
the animals that come into their care—working with them to com-
pile comprehensive data will help you understand the scope of the gift card.
problem and provide ammunition in advocating for policy change
Simply snap this QR
and funding in your community.
There is funding available to providers across the country to Code with your iPhone
support co-sheltering and other programs geared toward helping or Android phone and
people and their pets. Originally passed as part of the 2019 Farm it will take you directly
Bill, the bipartisan Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act is a grant to the survey.
program that provides Congressional funding to enable domestic
violence shelters to become pet-friendly and allow survivors and
BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / ICPHUSA.ORG/BEYONDHOUSINGMAGAZINE – 11The Saratoga Youth Council: Giving Youth Experiencing Homelessness a Platform for Individual Development and Community Building By Mary Cummings, Max Rein, and Michael Chapman 12 – BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022
T
he issues facing today’s adolescents range from peer pressure potential to be a positive influence on their peers. The principal
and cyberbullying to climate change and a global pandemic. goal of Saratoga is to support these children and their parents in
For students experiencing homelessness, factors like housing their transition into permanent housing. Tomas, who is 13 and a
instability and stigma make an already difficult stage of life even more former Youth Council President, and his family have done just
challenging. Afterschool programs across the nation are working that, and he often relays his firsthand experience of moving into
with youth from all backgrounds to empower and support them as permanent housing through video chats with his former fellow
they navigate these circumstances. Council members and peers.
“Students whose families are experiencing homelessness ben- Youth Council members—there are currently eight—are encour-
efit tremendously from afterschool programs,” says Jodi Grant, aged to discuss their goals and are then placed on a developmental
Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance, an organization path to ensure progression toward those goals. This is possible
that works at the national, state, and local levels to ensure that all because of a concerted effort across HFH. Chapman constantly
students have access to quality afterschool programs. “They make relays information about students to staff members, so that they are
learning fun, give students opportunities to explore their interests aware when a donation or opportunity comes up that is pertinent
and engage with peers and adults, and reinforce lessons from the to that student’s needs.
school day. Afterschool programs have been especially important Chrystel, 15, a student at Saratoga, has shown a proclivity for
during the pandemic, when so many children are facing isolation, fashion and has been attending a modeling workshop in Manhattan.
stress, and trauma.” This was arranged by a staff member connected to the modeling
Saratoga Family Residence, operated by Homes for the Homeless agency who was aware of Chrystel’s interests. For Alenell, 12, who is
(HFH) and located in Jamaica, Queens, works with the students in- both skilled in and passionate about music, staff have better equipped
volved in its afterschool program to help them develop self-esteem, her for her artistic endeavors by providing her with a keyboard
leadership skills, and inner strength—tools necessary to combat neg- instrument that was donated to the afterschool program. David, 13,
ative peer pressure. A critical component of the Saratoga afterschool who has proven to be an ardent public speaker, has been mentored
program is its “Youth Council.” The Saratoga Youth Council aims to by students from St. John’s University, who have helped him hone
give youth a voice, empowering participants under two umbrellas: his presentation skills. David was also part of a group that recently
individual development and community building. observed the power and social impact of having a collective voice.
The Council, formed in the summer of 2020, began when Mi- He and several Youth Council members attended a dinner event
chael Chapman, Director of Afterschool and Recreation at Sara- sponsored by ABIS (Advancement of Blacks in Sports), an orga-
toga Family Residence, noticed young adolescents at the shelter nization founded to “seek equal rights and fair treatment of Black
advocating for more program activities tailored to their age group. people by examining current institutional policies and practices in
The Youth Council’s original purpose was to unify the students an effort to promote racial, social, and economic justice.”
and give members of the Council, ages nine to 15, a group identity “The ABIS event showed what I could get to in public speaking,”
and voice in how activities could be adapted for all ages in the says David. “That I could [speak] in front of 100, 200, or even 300
afterschool program, which serves ages five to 15. The Council has people.”
since evolved its mission to better understand, develop, and utilize Chapman is working with the students to instill in them the sense
the collective voice of youth. that with their talents comes a level of responsibility and purpose.
Staff recruit students for the afterschool program through ave- Older members of the Youth Council mentor the younger partici-
nues like referrals from family services, flyers, and a table set up at pants, who in turn practice these same leadership skills.
the entrance to Saratoga with promotional items and information. “[In the Youth Council], we discuss how to be a good leader in
While the Saratoga afterschool and summer programming follows front of the kids,” says Alenell. “They watch us in everything we do,
the NYC Department of Education calendar, students are welcome so they will copy our self-control and respect.”
to join programming at any time. Students are then hand-picked Youth Council members are increasingly turning their atten-
for the Council based on their maturity, proven leadership, and tion to community building, which they practice by assisting in
developing new programs and events for the afterschool program.
The Saratoga Financial Credit Union was recently created to
teach financial literacy and promote leadership, kindness, and in-
tegrity. Youth earn “Rec Bucks” by demonstrating positive behaviors
such as assisting a classmate, valuing other people’s opinions, and
illustrating a willingness to do what is best for everyone. With the
earned currency, students can purchase games and toys from the
“Rec Bucks” store, managed by Alenell.
According to Chapman, the credit union has also been teaching
the students money management and budgeting skills and has been
propelling Alenell to new levels of responsibility.
“It teaches Alenell, and those who help manage the store, different
things in terms of management,” Chapman explains. “She analyzes
the product in the ‘warehouse,’ and when she sees a need for more
product, she acts upon it.”
Members of the Youth Council discuss new ideas and plan future projects.
BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / ICPHUSA.ORG/BEYONDHOUSINGMAGAZINE – 13Chrystel describes how new program ideas are born: “When we
want to propose something new, first we talk together as youth, and
then we talk to Mr. Chapman, and we decide all together.”
One such idea is the Student in Training (SIT) program, which
stemmed from one student’s desire to help serve dinner to the stu-
dents in the afterschool program. As more students volunteered,
this blossomed into a two-month initiative where students learn
leadership through service. It is an opportunity for them to learn
entry-level food management, food delivery, and the elements of
creating a positive atmosphere—all centered around serving food.
Since Saratoga’s afterschool program is not constrained by rigid
curriculum, this freedom allows for more “skills-based learning,”
where children gain valuable life experience through programs
such as SIT.
“When students have a voice in shaping the activities their
afterschool programs offer, their engagement can deepen as they Youth Council members look out for the younger children in the after-
gain important leadership, organizational, and collaboration skills,” school program.
says the Afterschool Alliance’s Grant.
The students in the Youth Council are leaders in conversations gain—from accountability to compromise—could not have come
about Saratoga afterschool, even when it comes to funding for their from a textbook or standard academic experience.
new Teen Lounge. They conducted a presentation for longtime HFH While the Youth Council is currently focused on programming,
collaborator KidCare, outlining their proposal for what the space Chapman is starting to introduce Council members to deeper
should be: a place where students can relax and find happiness, discussions about public policy. The perfect impetus for these
whether through the room itself or with each other. They discussed conversations presented itself by way of the NYC mayoral election.
how their dream Teen Lounge would incorporate a bit of everyone’s Students presented to each other the advice they would offer can-
personal interests in the form of a multimedia room featuring gaming didates for New York City Mayor—from more housing to access to
consoles, musical instruments, and arcade games. youth jobs and space for basketball, and Chapman went so far as to
KidCare Founder Jonathan Dorfman is looking forward to work- hold a faux press conference, where, acting as mayor, each fielded
ing with the Youth Council on a regular basis. “The kids showed questions regarding their proposed policies.
a great amount of confidence during the presentation,” Dorfman Discussing public policy has offered students the opportunity
says. “We are so impressed that they take it upon themselves to be to explore the nuances of life in a transitional residence. Thirteen-
leaders for their peers.” year-old Youth Council member Joshua has attributed his improved
The students focused on operational planning and budgeting for communication skills to living at Saratoga, since it is necessary to
the Teen Lounge project. The numerous life skills they were able to communicate with more people in his current community than if
he lived elsewhere.
“I feel like this is just something to look back on when I eventu-
ally succeed,” says Joshua. “To look back on how I wasn’t in the best
situation, but I was able to pull through and succeed.”
It is critical for the afterschool program to be a safe space—pro-
viding a place where youth experiencing homelessness can connect
with peers who are in similar situations and facing some of the same
emotions. This opportunity to share experiences and build relation-
ships outside of school helps students develop communication skills,
make friends more easily, become more cooperative, and fight less. 1
Moving into the 2021–22 academic year, the Youth Council
aims to expand their community building outside of Saratoga. They
would ideally like to plan a “Youth Summit” for children at the three
HFH family residences in the Bronx and eventually include other
shelters for families with children in New York City. They plan to
give a tutorial to other youth experiencing homelessness on how
they can organize a space to grow individually and collectively in
the form of their own Youth Councils.
Hannah Immerman, Senior Programs Associate at HFH, has
Alenell organizes the store with a little help from a younger student high hopes for the expansion of the Youth Council to the Bronx
and shows off the contents within. HFH family residences.
1 Institute for Children and Poverty, Back to the Future: The Brownstone & FutureLink After-school Programs for Homeless Children, November 2001.
14 – BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022Teen Lounge/ Room Color
The entire room should be
Curtained Wall
The entire room should be lined with
Media Arts painted black a blue or green screen curtain
Room GREEN SCREEN
Lights
There should be
This Media Arts Room will
overhead lights and serve as a multimedia room in Sound
Surround sound
rolling lights order to cultivate and service system
CAMERA
students’ artistic abilities
MIC
Control Room
through film, television, social
There should be a media, journalism, radio, video Appliances
Broadcasting monitor
live monitor, audio, gaming, and multi-platformed and screening
and sound board that storytelling.
connects all appliances
TV MONITOR
Properties Appliances
Saratoga Family Residence was featured during the 2020
Beyond Housing conference. Chapman served on the “Putting
Children First in Programming” panel alongside Sara Steward
of Homefront, Inc. and Jaymes Sime, then of MICHA House,
where they discussed the importance of providing access to
robust programming for children—birth through college—while
temporarily living in shelter. They explored programming op-
tions and funding to give kids, and their parents, access to
quality pre-K, sports teams, on-site art therapy, and much more.
Mary Cummings is a senior communications associate at Homes
for the Homeless. Michael Chapman is director of Afterschool
and Recreation at HFH’s Saratoga Family Residence, a 255-unit
family shelter in the Jamaica, Queens, neighborhood of NYC.
ABOVE TOP: The flowchart was part of a presentation the Youth Council Max Rein is a policy assistant at Homes for the Homeless.
created to showcase their vision for a Teen Lounge that includes a multi-
media arts room.
ABOVE BOTTOM: Chapman and Immerman, in the future Teen Lounge How to Connect:
and Media Arts Center, discuss the logistics of implementing the Youth
Council’s plan for the space. Mary Cummings / MCummings@HFHnyc.org
Max Rein / MRein@HFHnyc.org
“The Youth Council centers the youth as leaders and provides a Michael Chapman / MChapman@HFHnyc.org
platform for the participants to shape their afterschool program and
HFHNYC.org
connect with their peers in meaningful ways,” Immerman says. “Our
goal is to replicate this model at our other HFH sites so that more
youth can drive the development of their afterschool programs.”
David summed up the benefits of the Youth Council and the
importance of representation.
“Overall, it’s good to have a voice as a youth, because most of
the time, our community is based off adults’ behavior and how the
adults are. It’s good that we can represent ourselves.”
BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / ICPHUSA.ORG/BEYONDHOUSINGMAGAZINE – 15‘HOUSING IS HEALTH’: Overcrowding, COVID-19, and Evictions in NYC’s Immigrant Neighborhoods By Sara Herschander Hundreds of protesters march at a rally against the end of a State eviction moratorium in August 2021. 16 – BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022
A
delia Farciert was away from home when her sister called Yorkers experiencing homelessness, HPD is the city agency tasked
around lunchtime: “Did you finish work yet? There’s a fire with preserving affordable housing and providing emergency
in the building—they’re evacuating everyone.” housing to households displaced by fires and city-issued vacate
Farciert, 50, who is originally from Puebla, Mexico, rushed orders. Yet, as residents have decried, there are no HPD shelters in
home from her job as a housecleaner. The bus skipped her street, Queens, which is New York City’s largest borough by area and its
by then engulfed in black smoke. It was a chilly day in April 2021, second most populous, and finding new affordable housing in their
and when Farciert finally got off the bus, she passed by firefighters neighborhood has become all but impossible.
and fellow tenants, some shivering in pajamas. “Had people just gone to DHS [NYC Department of Homeless
“In that moment,” she recalls, “you don’t think of anything at all.” Services] intake, they probably could have ended up at a shelter 10
Farciert and her neighbors had grown closer over the course of blocks from home,” says Andrew Solokof Diaz, co-president of the
the COVID-19 pandemic, which had hit families in the two-build- 89th Street Tenants Association, a group that has advocated for
ing, 133-apartment complex hard when cases first exploded in New residents of the two buildings, which are located at the intersection
York City a year prior. The largely immigrant neighborhood had of 34th Avenue and 89th Street.
become a hotbed for infection, killing three building residents and In neighborhoods like Jackson Heights, where residents are
leaving many undocumented and mixed-status families, whose predominantly foreign-born, community members have been sound-
members might have differing immigration statuses, without access ing the alarm for years over rising rents, rampant overcrowding,
to government relief. Still, they socialized on the building’s adjacent gentrification, and a dwindling stock of affordable housing. When
“Open Street,” on 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens—part the pandemic arrived, these pre-existing housing conditions led
of a citywide initiative launched as a response to the pandemic. The to tragedy, with residents suffering from disproportionate rates of
Open Street afforded families, many of whom lived in overcrowded COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death. In the economic
apartments, with more than one person per room to save on rent, and housing crisis that has followed, residents have once again
a welcome breath of fresh air. found themselves on the brink.
Until crisis struck again. The devastating eight-alarm fire sent “The rents in those two buildings were some of the lowest in
residents scrambling out of their six-story, rent-stabilized building. Jackson Heights,” says Solokof Diaz. “This fire was a major shot
Rent stabilization, which applies to around one million apartments in the gut to those working to prevent displacement in the area.”
in New York City, prevents landlords from implementing sharp
increases on rent and preserves tenants’ right to renew their leases.
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board, a nine-member panel appointed
by the mayor, determines the level of rent increase permitted in “We either eat or we pay rent,” says Bárbara, a single mother and
rent-stabilized apartments each year. The fire injured 21 people, tenant in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, whose landlord has threatened
displaced more than 200 residents, and scattered a tight-knit com- to kick her and her family out of their apartment, despite national
munity into friends’ and families’ homes or emergency housing and state eviction moratoriums. A national eviction moratorium
in hotels run by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation declared by Congress was in effect for most tenants from March
and Development (HPD) throughout the city. By August 2021, 2020 to June 2020, after which the Center for Disease Control and
over 100 residents, including Farciert and her 11-year-old son, Prevention continued to issue its own national moratoriums until
remained housing unstable, fighting month-to-month to remain the Supreme Court struck them down in August 2021. In New
in city-sponsored hotel rooms, as officials attempted to relocate York, tenants have been protected by some form of statewide evic-
them to homeless shelters run by HPD. While NYC’s Department tion moratorium since March 2020, with its most recent iteration
of Homeless Services (DHS) provides housing services to New protecting most tenants until January 2022.
LEFT: Many Bronx residents work in hospitality and retail, industries with the highest rates of layoffs during New York’s initial lockdown.
RIGHT: With evictions looming, some Sunset Park residents must choose between food and paying rent.
BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / ICPHUSA.ORG/BEYONDHOUSINGMAGAZINE – 17The pandemic, Bárbara says, has forced her and other women takes her son over an hour to get to his middle school in Jackson
to work “more hours for less pay” to afford rent. Heights, which had been only four blocks from their old home.
Yet, it’s still not enough. The move was meant to be temporary, as the agency attempted to
When neighborhoods gentrify, longtime residents often find rehouse families, but Farciert was still there in August 2021, four
themselves at a crossroads—unable to match the area’s rising rents, months after she was first displaced.
they’re displaced into new neighborhoods or the shelter system. Or, HPD has offered three options to displaced tenants: affordable
as is often the case for immigrants, who may be reluctant to use city housing, defined as costing roughly one-third of a household’s in-
services or leave a community where they speak the language, the come, in the Bronx or South Queens, or first dibs on a pricey new
only solution may be overcrowding, which allows multiple families market-rate apartment complex in Jackson Heights that Solokof Diaz
to combine incomes to pay rent on just one unit. called a “giant gentrifying tower.” According to a meeting in which
After the fire, in the midst of uncertainty, an aunt offered Far- HPD presented housing options for the displaced tenants, a two-bed-
ciert a space in her home. Yet that aunt had already offered a place room apartment in the newly constructed Jackson Heights complex
to sleep to one of Farciert’s other aunts, one of several members of would cost $2,849 per month. In contrast, rent for a two-bedroom
her extended family also displaced by the fire. “We couldn’t all be apartment in Far Rockaway, where one of the affordable complexes
there, piled up together,” Farciert reasoned. is located, would be capped at $1,437 per month.
Instead, she and her son accepted an offer from HPD for a hotel That means the price of moving back to Jackson Heights is
room near John F. Kennedy Airport. From the hotel, it now takes prohibitive for people like Farciert, who’s also found excessive doc-
Farciert two hours to travel to her cleaning clients in Brooklyn. It umentation requirements, such as paystubs, bank statements, photo
Sunset Park’s Chinatown neighborhood bustles with activity as many face possible eviction.
18 – BEYOND HOUSING MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022You can also read
